LIV golfer claims a 'rat' is leaking secrets from players' group chat - Golfweek

Thomas Detry was the No. 57 player in the Official World Golf Ranking when he signed with LIV Golf in January.

Detry, the first Belgian to win on the PGA Tour with his victory at the WM Phoenix Open last year, joined fellow Belgian Thomas Pieters on Dustin Johnson's 4 Aces team after finishing the 2025 PGA Tour season at 44th in the FedEx Cup standings. He made cuts in 19 of his 24 starts and collected $3,651,876. His best finish after the victory at the WM was T-18 in the RBC Canadian Open.

He was also arguably the biggest signing since Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton joined the league ahead of the 2024 season.

While Detry has publicly expressed a desire to remain with LIV Golf as the circuit attempts to reinvent itself following the loss of Saudi PIF backing and its subsequent bankruptcy restructuring, the Belgian star admits he's concerned about challenges coming from within.

In comments published Monday, Detry praised CEO Scott O'Neil for his efforts to keep players informed during one of the most turbulent periods in the league's brief history. According to Detry, O'Neil has made transparency a priority, regularly updating players on the league's restructuring plans and long-term vision.

But Detry suggested that not everyone in the locker room is helping the cause. He voiced frustration that sensitive information shared with players has repeatedly found its way into the public domain, creating additional uncertainty at a time when LIV is fighting to stabilize its future.

For Detry, the issue isn't a lack of communication from leadership. It's whether players themselves can rally behind the league's vision long enough to give LIV's next chapter a chance to succeed.

“Scott keeps communications very open," Detry told Ben Parsons of Today's Golfer ahead of this week's BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. “We’ve got a player group chat. It seems like there’s a rat in there. It seems like we’re just trying to keep all the stuff between us and it seems like most of the stuff is being released out there all the time quite quickly. So it’s not easy to keep confidential things confidential. But they’ve really improved with the communications.”

The concern underscores the delicate balancing act the league is currently facing. As LIV works to secure player support for its proposed post-bankruptcy model, league executives are trying to project unity and confidence.

Yet ongoing leaks and internal dissent threaten to complicate those efforts, highlighting the challenges of keeping a fractured roster aligned while the circuit fights for survival.

“None of this stuff is really game-changing that was leaked," Detry said. "But still, we’re trying to keep something confidential in the group. And the idea that someone might transfer it to the media, to someone else, is not really fun to know.”

Last week, LIV announced via a release that it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as part of a restructuring agreement with BC Partners Credit aimed at preserving the league and making players majority owners of the reorganized company.

The bankruptcy filing formalizes a difficult year that included a series of cost-cutting measures. LIV recently informed a significant number of employees that their positions were being eliminated as part of a broader effort to scale back operations.

Tim Schmitt is the editor of Golfweek magazine and the golf coordinator for the USA Today Network.